Bucs at Cowboys: Pewter Preview Week 16

For one last time within the 2024 common season, the 8-6 Bucs will hit the street this weekend for a Sunday Evening Soccer matchup in opposition to the 6-8 Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Tampa Bay shall be searching for its fifth straight win out of the bye, a win that will get the staff one step nearer to its fourth straight NFC South title and fifth straight playoff look.

The Bucs are coming off a press release 40-17 street win over the Chargers final week and shall be seeking to end the common season with a 6-2 report away from dwelling. In the meantime, the Cowboys have gained three of their final 4 and regardless of shedding quarterback Dak Prescott for the season in November, they’ve a glimmer of hope to make the playoffs themselves. They’ll doubtless must win out and get some assist, although.

Dallas is 1-6 at dwelling this season, and Tampa Bay shall be seeking to make that 1-7. Doing so would hold the stress on Atlanta and arrange a clinching state of affairs in Week 17.

Here’s a preview of Sunday’s matchup between the Bucs and Cowboys:

The Final Time…

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photograph by: Cliff Welch/PR

The latest matchup between the Bucs and Cowboys got here in January of 2023, when Dallas got here to Raymond James Stadium and beat Tampa Bay within the NFC Wild Card Spherical. That 31-14 Cowboys victory was the ultimate recreation of Tom Brady’s storied NFL profession. Dallas scored the primary 24 factors and finally went up 31-6 early within the fourth quarter earlier than closing the sport out. Dak Prescott was 25-of-33 for 305 yards and 4 touchdowns within the recreation, whereas Brady threw for 351 yards, two touchdowns and an interception on 35-of-66 passing.

The final common season assembly between the 2 groups – and their final assembly at Jerry World – got here simply 4 months earlier, as they met on Sunday Evening Soccer to open the 2022 season. The Bucs gained that recreation 19-3, with Leonard Fournette operating for 127 yards on 21 carries and Mike Evans hauling in 5 passes for 71 yards and a memorable one-handed landing seize. Ryan Succop kicked 4 subject targets to prepared the ground earlier than Evans’ landing basically put the sport out of attain.

General, the Cowboys lead the all-time common season collection over the Bucs 13-6, although Tampa Bay has gained the final two (the 2021 and 2022 season openers).

How The Bucs And Cowboys Are Trending Heading Into Week 16

Bucs OC Liam Coen, QB Baker Mayfield and HC Todd Bowles – Photograph by: Cliff Welch/PR

The Bucs have managed to do it once more, turning their season round late for the second 12 months in a row. In 2023, they went from 4-7 to 9-8, which was sufficient to assist them three-peat as division champions. They fell into an analogous gap this 12 months at 4-6, however they’ve gained 4 straight video games out of the bye week to place themselves in place to higher their 2023 win complete and keep on high of the NFC South for one more 12 months.

The lighter schedule has performed a job in Tampa Bay’s turnaround, because the staff went from video games in opposition to the likes of the Ravens and Chiefs to matchups with the Giants and Raiders. However that’s to not downplay what Todd Bowles and Co. have managed to do in current weeks, as each the offense and protection have performed their elements on this profitable streak. Bowles’ Bucs at the moment are 8-1 over the past two Decembers and 10-3 within the month of December over the past three years.

Over the course of this four-game profitable streak, Liam Coen‘s offense has put up a median of 31 factors per recreation. Baker Mayfield has overcome some turnover issues that appear to come up for stretches of video games, and he’s as much as a career-high 32 passing touchdowns this season. Mike Evans is catching fireplace, too, as he’s coming off a 159-yard, two-touchdown efficiency that was his second 100-yard recreation within the final three weeks. However nearly as good because the cross recreation has been, Bucky Irving and Rachaad White – in addition to the Buccaneer offensive line – have the run recreation because the energy of the staff proper now.

The caliber of offenses they’ve met in current weeks has helped, however an undermanned Bucs protection has additionally been enjoying higher soccer. Through the profitable streak, the unit has allowed simply 15 factors per recreation. Bowles’ protection shut out the Chargers within the second half of final week’s win and took the ball away twice, with Jamel Dean selecting off Justin Herbert and Vi Jones forcing a late fumble that was recovered by Kaevon Merriweather.

As for the Cowboys, they’ve gained three of their final 4 and have saved themselves from what seemed prefer it was going to be an embarrassingly unhealthy report. It has not less than gotten them to the brink of being “within the hunt,” however NFL.com offers them a lower than 1% likelihood of creating the postseason even with a win over the Bucs on Sunday night time. Nonetheless, having began the season 3-7 whereas shedding Dak Prescott for the 12 months, they’re again to 6-8 heading into this matchup.

Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb – Photograph by: Cliff Welch/PR

Backup quarterback Cooper Rush has achieved an admirable job for Dallas, particularly over this four-game stretch. He threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Washington to start out it, and he’s coming off a 214-yard, three-touchdown efficiency in final week’s win over the Panthers. On the season, he’s thrown for 1,405 yards and 10 touchdowns to a few interceptions, and he’s stored Mike McCarthy’s staff afloat as of late.

It helps that Rush has CeeDee Lamb to throw to. Regardless of Prescott’s harm and the truth that he’s catching passes from a backup in Rush, Lamb has 94 catches on 144 targets this 12 months for 1,089 yards and 6 touchdowns. The offense runs by means of him, because the next-closest receiver to him by way of catches and yardage is Jalen Tolbert at 40 catches for 462 yards. Tolbert does have 5 touchdowns, although. And it additionally helps that Rico Dowdle has been a revelation at operating again for the Cowboys, as he’s as much as half of 1 mile on 177 carries (5.0 avg.) this 12 months and simply ran for 149 yards in opposition to the Panthers final week.

The Dallas protection is enjoying higher soccer as of late, nevertheless it nonetheless ranks as one of many league’s worst throughout the board. This can be a unit that has a tough time in opposition to the run, and it’s permitting 27.1 factors per recreation this 12 months, which ties for fourth-worst within the league. Seven Cowboys have not less than three sacks this season, with Micah Parsons predictably main the way in which with 8.5. However it is a protection that has misplaced playmaking linebacker DeMarvion Overshown and high cornerback Trevon Diggs for the season. These are powerful blows for a protection that has already been struggling.

Right here’s how the Bucs and Cowboys stack up heading into Week 16:

Bucs Offense: 4th in scoring offense (28.8 PPG), third in complete offense (388.3 yards per recreation), 4th in passing offense (244.0 yards per recreation), T-4th in speeding offense (144.4 yards per recreation)

Cowboys Offense: nineteenth in scoring offense (21.3 PPG), seventeenth in complete offense (328.9 yards per recreation), twelfth in passing offense (229.1 yards per recreation), twenty seventh in speeding offense (99.8 yards per recreation)

Bucs Protection: nineteenth in scoring protection (23.3 factors allowed per recreation), twenty seventh in complete protection (356.9 yards allowed per recreation), thirtieth in passing protection (247.7 yards allowed per recreation), eleventh in speeding protection (109.2 yards allowed per recreation)

Cowboys Protection: T-Twenty ninth in scoring protection (27.1 factors allowed per recreation), twenty sixth in complete protection (356.0 yards allowed per recreation), twenty first in passing protection (219.9 yards allowed per recreation), Twenty ninth in speeding protection (136.1 yards allowed per recreation)

As of Thursday morning, the Bucs had been 3.5-point favorites with the Over/Underneath set at 48.5 (per Arduous Rock Guess).

Bucs at Cowboys Sport Info

When: Sunday, December 22
The place: AT&T Stadium (Arlington, TX)
Kickoff: 8:20 p.m. ET
TV: NBC – Mike Tirico (Play by Play), Cris Collinsworth (Analyst), Melissa Stark (Reporter)
Bucs Radio: 98Rock – Gene Deckerhoff (Play by Play), Dave Moore (Colour), T.J. Rives (Reporter)
Spanish Radio: 96.1 Caliente – Carlos Bohorquez (Play by Play), Martín Gramática (Analyst), Santiago Gramática (Reporter)